This invention relates to a cowling structure for a marine propulsion engine, more particularly a cowling structure which prevents water from entering the air intake opening.
Marine propulsion engines, such as outboard engines, are well-known in the art. Such outboard engines typically have a cowling which encloses the engine. It is necessary for the cowling to define an air inlet to enable air to pass through the cowling and into the engine.
The engine cowlings usually define the air inlet at a rear portion and may utilize the air inlet opening to also form a grip opening which is useful when tilting up the outboard engine.
While the known cowling structures have been generally successful, they have provided insufficient protection form water entering the air inlet from following waves. Water passing through the air inlet may also pass through the air intake opening and into the engine itself. Attempts have been made to change the shape of the air duct which transports air from the air inlet to the intake opening, but these attempts have restricted the volume of the air duct such that, if sufficient water entry protection is obtained, the engine performance is diminished. The result of these attempts is that water could not effectively be prevented from entering the air intake opening while still maintaining maximum engine performance.